Story highlights

Farah wins the 5000 meters final in a time of 13 minutes 41.66 seconds

He is one of only six men to win double Olympic gold at 5000m and 10000m

He moved to Britain at eight years old after being born and brought up in Somalia

His wife is due to give birth to twin girls later this month and he has dedicated the golds to them

Mo Farah has joined an illustrious list of athletes who have won 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter Olympic gold medals by beating off a late challenge to win the shorter distance race in front of a roaring home crowd.

The 29 year-old runner stepped up the pace 600 meters from the end, but then faced an impressive chase down from Ethiopian Dejen Gebremeskel and Kenya's Thomas Longosiwa in the home strait. But he held on to cross the line in 13 minutes 41.66 seconds.

"I'm just amazed - two gold medals, who would have thought that? I got a lot of support from a fantastic crowd and that helped me towards the end" Farah told BBC TV after the race.

His wife is set to give birth to twins anytime soon and he dedicated both victories to them, saying "they can have one each".

As is typical in his races, the pace set at the start of the race was fairly slow, with U.S. athlete Lopez Lomong leading with a lap time of 1 min 11 seconds.

Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics 75 photos

Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics75 photos

Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Oleksandr Usyk of the Ukraine, in red, defends against Clemente Russo of Italy, in blue, during the heavyweight boxing final. Usyk won gold on a 14-11 points decision on Day 15 of the London 2012 Olympic Games on Saturday, August 11. Check out the best images from Day 14 of competition on Friday, August 10. The Games ran through Sunday, August 12.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Edwige Lawson-Wade No.8 of France goes up for a shot against Sue Bird No.6 of United States in the second half during the Women's Basketball Gold Medal game.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Race walkers compete in front of Buckingham Palace during the Women's 20 km Walk final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – David Boudia of the United States competes in the Men's 10m Platform Diving Final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Montenegro's Bojana Popovic, top, shoots over Norway's pivot Heidi Loke, left, during the women's gold medal handball match between Norway and Montenegro.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Gold medalist Luke Campbell of Great Britain celebrates with the British national flag during the awards ceremony for the Bantamweight (56kg) boxing category.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Carlo Molfetta of Italy celebrates winning the Men's +80kg Gold Medal fight against Anthony Obame of Gabon.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – DeeDee Trotter of United States looks on after competing during the Women's 4 x 400m Relay Final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Vitezslav Vesely of Czech Republic competes during the Men's Javelin Throw final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Aleksandr Usyk of Ukraine celebrates his gold medal victory over Clemente Russo of Italy in the Heavyweight (91kg) boxing final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Tom Daley of Great Britain celebrates with his teammates after finishing third in the Men's 10m Platform Diving Final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Benjamin Wess of Germany is comforted by a teammate while celebrating winning the gold medal against Netherlands in the Men's Hockey gold medal match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Usain Bolt of Jamaica receives the relay baton from Yohan Blake of Jamaica next to Tyson Gay of the United States during the men's 4x100-meter relay final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – No. 14 Fabiana Oliveira of Brazil reacts after defeating the United States to win the women's volleyball gold medal match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Mariya Savinova of Russia celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win gold in the women's 800-meter final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – No. 8 Jaqueline Carvalho of Brazil spikes the ball against the United States' No. 13 Christa Harmotto and No. 4 Lindsey Berg during the women's volleyball gold medal match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Competitors shoot in the combined running and shooting event in the men's modern pentathlon.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Sanya Richards-Ross of the United States celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win gold in the women's 4x400-meter relay final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – The United States' No. 8 Angel McCoughtry lays the ball up while taking on France during the women's basketball gold medal game.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Tom Daley of Great Britain competes in the men's 10-meter platform diving final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Sanya Richards-Ross of the United States celebrates after crossing the finish line to win gold in the women's 4x400-meter relay final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Germany's Maximilian Mueller vies for the ball during the men's field hockey gold medal match between Germany and the Netherlands.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Brigetta Barrett of the United States celebrates winning silver after the women's high jump final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Kaeo Pongprayoon of Thailand, in blue, reacts as Shiming Zou of China waves the Chinese national flag after being declared winner in the light flyweight boxing final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Komeil Ghasemi of Iran celebrates winning the bronze medal in the men's 120-kilogram freestyle wrestling.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – David Svoboda of Czech Republic celebrates winning the men's modern pentathlon.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – No. 10 Kristi Harrower, of Australia, attempts a shot in the first half against No. 12 Irina Osipova, of Russia, during the women's basketball bronze medal game.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Ukraine's Ganna Rizatdinova competes during the Individual all-around rhythmic gymnastics final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Mohamed Farah, of Great Britain, celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win gold ahead of Ethiopia's Dejen Gebremeskel and Kenya's Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa in the men's 5000-meter final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Rebecca Henderson of Australia competes in the women's cross-country mountain bike race.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – South Korea's pivot Cha Youn Kim, left, shoots during the women's bronze medal handball match between South Korea and Spain.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Azerbaijan's Toghrul Asgarov celebrates with his coach after defeating Russia's Besik Kudukhov in a men's freestyle wrestling gold medal match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Tamara Echegoyen Dominguez, Sofia Toro Prieto Puga and Angela Pumariega Menendez of Spain lead from Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty of Australia as they compete in women's sailing.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Turkey's Ibrahim Bolukbasi, left, wrestles the United States' Jake Herbert in the men's freestyle wrestling match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Athletes compete in the men's 5000-meter final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Spain's Beatriz Pascual races Australia's Regan Lamble during the women's 20-kilometer walk.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Australian guard Jennifer Screen competes in the women's bronze medal basketball game between Australia and Russia.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – No. 7 Beatriz Fernandez Ibanez, of Spain, shoots over No. 11 Eun Hee Ryu, of South Korea, during the women's handball bronze medal match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Emma Green Tregaro of Sweden competes during the women's high jump final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – David Svoboda, right, of Czech Republic competes in the combined running and shooting event in the men's modern pentathlon.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Kenn Shiwan, coach of Nigeria's Chika Chukwumerije, reacts during the men's taekwondo preliminary round.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Brazilian goalkeeper Gabriel Vasconcelos Ferreira fails to catch Mexican forward Oribe Peralta's second goal in the men's football final match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – No. 14 Saori Sakoda of Japan spikes the ball against No. 13 Dae-Young Jung and No. 20 Sook-Ja Lee of South Korea during a women's volleyball match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – The United States' Tervel Ivaylov Dlagnev, right, and Uzbekistan's Artur Taymazov react after Taymazov won a match in the men's freestyle wrestling semifinal event.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – British cyclist Annie Last competes in the women's cross-country mountain bike race.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Spectators watch the women's cross-country mountain bike race.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – French fighter Anne-Caroline Graffe, right, reacts after her win over South Korean fighter In Jong Lee during the women's taekwondo quarterfinal match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Women's cross-country mountain bike competitors race down Deane's Drop, a section of the course named for a school.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Brazil's forward Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, known as Neymar, right, clashes with Mexico's goalkeeper Jose Corona during the men's football final match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Belarus' Liubou Charkashyna performs her ball program during the individual all-around final of the rhythmic gymnastics event.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, in blue, and Bulgarian wrestler Anatolie Ilarionovitch Guidea, meet in the men's freestyle wrestling qualification match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – No. 9 Oribe Peralta, who scored both of Mexico's goals, celebrates with his team after defeating Brazil 2-1 in the men's football final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – South Korea's Woojin Hwang loses control of his horse during the show jumping event of the modern pentathlon.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Lithuania's Justinas Kinderis, front, competes against Poland's Szymon Staskiewicz in a fencing bout during the men's modern pentathlon at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Japan's Koichiro Morioka gets assistance as he crosses the finish line during the men's 50-kilometer walk.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Canada's Riley McCormick competes in the men's platform diving semifinal.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Hungary's Adam Marosi celebrates winning a fencing bout during the men's modern pentathlon.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Japanese and South Korean players stretch for the ball during the women's volleyball bronze medal match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – South Korea's Yeon Jae Son of competes during the individual all-around rhythmic gymnastics final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Japan's Kenichi Yumoto, right, wrestles Cuba's Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez in the men's freestyle final match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Athletes compete during the men's 50-kilometer walk.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Austrian rider Elisabeth Osl rides under a bridge as Japanese rider Rie Katayama crosses over during the women's cross-country mountain bike race.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Australia's Ed Fernon competes in the 200-meter freestyle swimming event in the men's modern pentathlon.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Japanese volleyball players celebrate after their win over South Korea in the women's volleyball bronze medal match.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – South Korea's Woojin Hwang looks on in the fencing event during the men's modern pentathlon.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Walkers compete during the men's 50-kilometer walk.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Russia's Sergey Kirdyapkin competes during the men's 50-kilometer walk.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Athletes compete in fencing during part of the modern pentathlon.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Maryna Konieva of Ukraine, left, competes against Nadin Dawani of Jordan during the women's +67-kilogram taekwondo preliminary round. Konieva defeated Dawani to advance to the quarterfinals.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Risa Shinnabe, left, and Erika Araki of Japan celebrate after a point against Korea during the women's volleyball.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – United States diver Nicholas McCrory competes in the men's 10-meter platform semifinals.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Yury Postrigay and Alexander Dyachenko of Russia celebrate winning the gold medal in the men's kayak double 200-meter canoe sprint final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Thomas Daley of Great Britain competes in the men's 10-meter platform diving semifinals.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Sebastian Brendel of Germany competes in the men's canoe single 200-meter sprint final.

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Day 15: The best photos of the Olympics – Japan's Risa Shinnabe dives to reach the ball during the women's volleyball bronze medal match. Check out photos from the last day of the Games on Sunday, August 12.

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EXPAND GALLERY

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Bred for Success?

The Ethopian duo of Gebremeskel and Yenew Alamirew then lengthened their strides to pick up the pace, but encouragement came from Farah's American training partner Galen Rupp who helped keep Farah in contention by meeting the Ethiopian's pace.

Rupp could not stay with the pack on the final lap and Farah was left to fight his way into the lead and try to hold on, despite tiring heavily in the last couple of meters.

The victory comes a week after he took the 10,000m title and the crowd responded to his achievement by chanting his name as he went on a lap of honor which was more pedestrian in pace only because of the number of people that wanted to congratulate him.

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Millar divides team mates – Cyclist David Millar, 35, was banned after testing positive for the blood-booster EPO in 2004. In 2010 Millar won gold for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games. Fellow cyclist Sir Chris Hoy has spoken against lifetime Olympic bans being lifted. However, champion Mark Cavendish says he would have no problem with Millar in the team.

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Blackpool Tower 'innocent' – Known as the 'Blackpool Tower' because of his giant frame, Carl Myerscough, 32, tested positive for anabolic steroids in 1999. The shot putter and discus thrower has always denied taking the drugs. He won bronze for shot put at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Prior to the 2004 Athens Olympics, Myerscough appealed against his lifetime Olympic ban but was unsuccessful.

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Priestly's drugs hurdle – Hurdler Callum Priestly, 23, won bronze at the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships and at the end of the year was awarded lottery funding. This was pulled after he tested positive for the asthma drug clenbuterol in 2010. The ban expired in February this year.

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Rakhra wrestles with return – Wrestler Rakhra Jatinder Singh Rakhra, 22, tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2010. The ban expired in February this year and he is believed to have returned to training. As a junior wrestler he was seen as Britain's great wrestling hope at the 2012 Olympics. However he was later beaten in the first round at the World Championships in 2009.

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EXPAND GALLERY

He is the first British athlete to win both races at the games and only five other men have managed to do the double, Czech Emil Zatopek, Lasse Viren and Hannes Kolehmainen from Finland and Ethiopians Miruts Yifter and Kenenisa Bekele.

Farah moved to Great Britain as an eight-year-old from war-torn Somalia where he was born. He lives close to the Olympic Stadium in London, but he moved out to the U.S. last year to enhance his preparations for these games by training with Rupp.